Zoo database

White rhinoceros

Ceratotherium simum

Natural diet White rhinoceros

White rhinos are herbivorous grazers that feed almost exclusively on short grasses. In the wild, they spend around half of their day searching for food. They can go without water for around 4 days but prefer to drink around twice a day.

Grasses
Grasses

Feeding advice White rhinoceros

Feed quantity per day

1-3%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 2,000 kg and eats 2% of its body weight, it will get
 
2,000 x 0.02 = 40 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

10% Concentrates
90% Grass, alfalfa, roughage

Proportions (fresh product)

0.1 x 40 kg = 4,000 g concentrates
0.9 x 40 kg = 36,000 g grass, alfalfa, roughage

Diet Suggestions

Recommended

Grass hay (e.g. timothy hay)

In moderation

Lucerne hay

Not recommended

Fruits
Vegetables
Cereals
Grain products
Alfalfa pellets

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

  • Hypophosphataemia
  • Farmer’s lung condition
  • Skin and foot lesions
  • Laminitis
  • Colic

Additional advice

  • Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
  • Supplement the diet with ad libitum roughages.
  • The ratio between grass hay and lucerne hay should be 80:20 (read more about browsers and grazers).
  • It is not recommended to feed the rhinos from the ground since they might ingest sand which increases the risk of colic.
  • Hang or hide the feed (not in sand) to reduce the risk of colic and increase foraging behaviour (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).